My Hope-Filled Life
by New Era of G
Summary: Some kids live a life filled with hope and lived happily ever after forever. Nothing bad ever happened. The rating isn't T because of gore or something.
1. Chapter 0

Chapter 0: A Beautiful Lie in Paradise

I woke up.

Wow, that's pretty cliche, huh? Isn't that how all stories start? With the protagonist waking up? I guess that's why I'm not the author.

Instead, I'd like to paint a beautiful sunrise. The kind you only see once in your life. That kind of sunrise that inspires you to keep going. It just speaks of beautiful new beginnings. New beginnings where we can have a new life, a new hope, a new...

...what did that have to do with waking up?

Sorry, I'm rambling a lot, aren't I? That's just how I am. I've been thinking a lot recently. About the things I couldn't do with my life, and about the things I can't do now. About life, I guess.

...I just rambled about rambling.

At any rate, it was a normal morning. I woke up to my sheets in disarray and set about making my bed. My sheets had little cats on them- a friend had recommended them, I believe. It was a long time ago. Actually, I can't believe how long it's been. Probably five years or so.

Isn't that so cool? When you know a friend so long, and they are just sort of there! You can't even remember when you met them or anything!

...just like I can't remember to stay on track.

I patted the little cat sheets with some satisfaction. I forget where the cats come from, but they're a reference to something or the other. I looked around my room.

Sketchbooks were piled up everywhere. Some were almost as old as I was. They had drawings on every page- all really terrible, by the way. No, seriously. Stay out of those. I can't stand to look at my old work. I won't even describe them, they're so god awful. Oh gosh, how embarrassing. Let me distract you from this mess of a room with an introduction!

My name is Toxic! Or at least, the name I'll give you. I'm a completely normal girl who's just trying to make it through life. It's pretty hard, you know! I'm going to be in university soon!

...eheh, that's the old me talking. I'm almost a woman now.

I gave up on tidying my dreadful room and headed out the door. It was time for breakfast. I walked through the expansive, magenta hallways that housed the doors to the rooms. The walk to the cafeteria was insufferably long, so I quickened my pace. I was hesitant to run around- a habit from my schoolgirl days, I'm certain- but it seemed horribly rude. My friends would certainly be there ahead of me, as usual.

Finally, I reached the large doors of the cafeteria. They had at first been entirely made of boring wood, so I had busted out some paint and drawn a cheerful pink hedgehog on it.

...oh god.

It was so old. So, so old. Oh god. I regretted so hard. I needed to redraw that immediately!

"I'm getting my paint..." I murmured aloud, turning to hurry back to my room.

"Toxic?" A voice called, stopping me in my tracks. The doors opened, hiding my monstrosity from my view.

And just like that, the thought fled from my mind. My bestest friend, Danyalle, was standing in the door.

"Dani~!"

My legs scrunched up, and then I was flying through the air, right into her arms.

"Stop doing that, Toxic! I'm not that strong!" Danyalle, who most certainly was strong enough to hold my weight, complained.

"Good morrow~! I could draw your smiling face any day, Dani! Or maybe a caricature, eheh!"

Dani lived there with me, in that place. She always made it to breakfast before me because I'm so slow. Everyday, I tried to clean that squalid room, but to no avail!

I think Dani waited for me to get there, because she hadn't eaten yet. We sat down and began to dine together.

On my plate were a few scones- probably far too many, but who cares about that?- and an omelette. Dani eyed my scones jealously every now and then. She had a condition such that she couldn't eat any gluten, and I felt horribly bad for her. If it wasn't deathly bad for her, I would have given her my scones. Instead, she ate a small plate of potatoes. The poor girl doesn't ever eat much- I've been getting on myself about fixing that, but it's terribly hard to think of ways to.

Today, we were jovial. We usually were, actually. We had gotten much done in our stay here, and it was a happy time. I was drawing a fun little comic series, and-

"Did you want to spend some time together later, Toxic? I won't be writing after about three," Danyalle said offhandedly. "We've been a bit buried in work lately, haven't we? I'd like to have some fun!"

"Of course!" I chirped immediately. "How about we meet at the game room? We can play on the wii!"

"I'd like that," Danyalle said, smiling that fleeting smile of hers before returning to her own quarters.

I wish I had drawn a picture of her at that time.

Anyway, it was ten in the morning then. I'd need to be ready for Darky at fifteen o' clock. I had plenty of time to roam as I pleased. My first order of business was to push through the gate that lay across from the cafeteria. This gate led to the gardens, which I helped Darky tend. And, more generally, it led to the outside.

I put my hands firmly on either side of the gate and gave it a push.

As the doors swung open, the gentle morning sun slipped its heavenly rays through. I'm certain that the hallway behind me was bathed in bright, golden light. And the door, even with that crude drawing on it, had transcended in my imagination to a door made of pure gold. It was everything good in this world; all the happiness incarnate had been melted into that gold door.

And it was with this in mind that I viewed Paradise that day. I stared out the door, my eyes adjusting to the sunlight. Danyalle's gardens sprawled around the building. She refused to plant any flowers, only plants that would bear fruits. So we had rows upon rows of apple trees, cherry trees, pear trees, peach trees, blueberry and blackberry bushes... all manner of plants bearing all manner of fruit, from pineapples to kiwis to mangoes to currents to quinces. They all were near the building, which was colored a bright, shining white. It seemed picture-perfect- entirely flawless in every way imaginable. And the glass dome seemed to complete our impenetrable fortress- our Paradise- with its glistening, nearly completely see-through, bubble-like appearance. It was like we were in a dream. A floating, never-ending, happy dream.

I wanted to paint a picture of that dream. A beautiful, beautiful painting, spread over a room of canvases. I wanted to see that sight forever, but I knew my time was coming to an end. Every second chases away the last second, and every moment draws farther and farther away from me. That beautiful moment in Paradise was already gone, but it's still with me right now, in my heart. That sight of my Paradise...

I spent the afternoon frolicking merrily in the gardens. We had a bright red toolshed with all the garden implements stowed away, and I decided to do a little work to help Danyalle. She was always working on something or the other, and the garden was just extra. I knew how to weed well enough, so I wouldn't mess anything up. I also saw some ripe fruit, which I was quick to pull off.

By the time I finished, hours had passed. I had a few baskets full of fruit. I was certain Danyalle could make a good dessert out of them. Like a parfait, or a shortcake, or a pie...

Whatever the case, it would be delicious. Danyalle would eat hers slowly while I sketched mine into my napkin, and we would chat, and then go to sleep. It seems simple, but that was what we wanted. We loved it there, in Paradise.

Seeing that it was nearly fifteen o' clock, I headed into the building once more. I checked in on all the rooms on the way to make sure there were no problems, as I usually did every day.

The storage room, filled with all our supplies, was secure.

Next I checked the common room. It was a surprisingly large room with many comfortable chairs and sofas. Danyalle and I found it much too large, and the sense of loneliness it created guaranteed its abandonment. It also had a large computer and some decorative plants in the corners. While there were light fixtures in the room, it had also been set up with a bunch of lanterns and candles in case we wanted dim light. I think I've spotted it in use at night, but never checked what Danyalle was doing in there. There was a laptop on the room's sole desk. I didn't use it ever, but I never saw it dust over.

Finally, I checked in on the little study we had. It was completely soundproofed, and had a collection of books lining oaken shelves. I had organized them carefully by title one time when I had artist's block. Other than the shelves, the room had three little desks in its corners.

I moved to the game room, where a bunch of board games were messily piled against the wall. We hardly ever used them. In fact, the last game we had played was monopoly, and we still hadn't finished it. I couldn't even list off any other of the board games. Most of the games we actually used were video games that we had carefully organized on three birch shelves in the back of the room. There was also that weird black and white bear that always laughed maniacally as I entered the room.

Ah, I loved the game room. It was where Danyalle and I spent most of our downtime. We had a lot of good times together there! We always played on the same team, or played two player mode.

I would've loved to have painted a picture of our time tog-

"Something strange. Something strange was just there. Something really strange. As I was entering the room, I saw..." I murmured.

Board games. Video games. Shelves. Black and white bear laughing.

"Something really strange... Something that wasn't supposed to be there... Something that couldn't be there..."

I turned around to look at the entrance. On top of the shelf nearest to it, a black and white teddy bear was laughing his head off.

"Good afternoon, you bastard! Upupupupupupupupupupupu! Upupupupupupupupu!"

"Well, that's just impossible. We don't have anything like that here. And nothing can get through our bubble," I mumbled to myself, turning back around. "I'm just tired, that's all. If I ignore the problem, it'll go away. Yes. Ignore that strange, imaginary thing."

I walked over to the wii. Darky and I would probably play Mario kart double dash. That way we could play in a single kart and work together. It would be really fun. Yes, truly-

"DON'T IGNORE ME!" The bear yelled, popping up in front of me unexpectedly.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I THOUGHT YOU WERE A HALLUCINATION! HOW DID YOU GET HERE?!" I screamed.

Now that I finally believed in its existence, I got a good look at the bear. It was a weird looking teddy bear with a pronounced belly button. It's eye on the black side of its face was marked with a red lightning bolt, and it had a strange, asymmetrical mouth.

"I'm no hallucination! I'm the one, the only, the majestic, the aesthetically pleasing, the one who all the fangirls yearn for, the despair-inducingly amazing... MONOKUMA!" The bear yelled.

"Monokuma?" I asked meekly. "Is that a surname, or a first name? And anyway, um... how did you break through our impenetrable fortress...?"

I'm bad at this kind of situation, to be honest. I'm just horrible. Talking to loud people just isn't for me, I guess! All of that bear's yelling just made me dizzy. In fact, at that time, I felt I could keel over at any time.

"Upupupupupupu!" Monokuma giggled, covering his mouth like a naughty child might. "Silly, silly artist! If it's hard for you to call me Monokuma, then call me headmaster... The headmaster of your new life of mutual killing!"

With that sentence, Monokuma shattered everything we built. Everything we worked for. Everything we dreamed of.

He ended my beautiful lie...

My life in Paradise.

Chapter 0: A Beautiful Lie in Paradise- end.


	2. Prologue

Prologue: A Horrible Truth in Hell.

I woke up.

Wow, that's pretty cliche, huh? Isn't that how all stories start? With the protagonist waking up? I guess that's why I'm not the-

"EVIL BEARS! NOTHING IS SACRED! THEY'VE JOINED THE NUMBERS AND LETTERS TO TORMENT ME!" I screamed.

I had fainted after Monokuma said that, and when I woke up I was still in the game room. I instantly leapt to my feet and prepared to fight-

Except I had no idea how to fight, and there wasn't anyone TO fight. There were no devilish bears in sight. In fact, the game room looked completely normal.

"Was that a dream? I guess I stayed up later than I meant to... and maybe I should lay off the midnight snacks," I laughed nervously. "Jeez, I'm even talking to myself."

I set about straightening myself. I brushed my brown hair behind my shoulders and brushed off my pink hoodie and jeggings straight. I didn't care that much about my appearance anyway, and no one important was around.

Even though I had laughed it off, a bad feeling remained in my stomach. I looked at the clock and did a double take.

"Sixteen o' clock?! Why didn't Danyalle come wake me up?!"

My cheeks puffed out in anger as the situation became clear to me.

"She forgot about me! She completely forgot about me!" I screamed in frustration. "I'll go give her a good talking to, that girl!"

I placed my hand firmly on the knob and twisted it. Then, I slammed my weight against it, causing the door to fly open.

"Ow!" A voice yelped.

"DANYALLE! YOU'RE LA-"

I stopped short as the door opened fully. A young woman had been knocked to the ground when the door abruptly opened, but it wasn't Danyalle. It was a girl with bright pink hair and red, square glasses. She had bright green eyes which were flushed with tears of pain and soft, light skin. She wore a white button down shirt and a black skirt, both of which reminded me of office wear. She clutched a clipboard to her large chest.

"O- oh gosh!" I squeaked. "Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh! Are you okay?! Oh gosh!"

Accidentally hurting someone. That's another situation I'm no good at dealing with. As it happened, I just stood there and stuttered apologies. At that time, a boy with blond hair and similar dress to the girl hurried over and helped her up.

"I hope you aren't hurt, miss. What happened?" He asked her gently.

"I accidentally opened the door in her face," I said quickly.

In my anxiety, I failed to speak at an appropriate pace for him to hear him clearly. He stared at my blankly.

"I- I walked carelessly close to that door. I'm sorry," the girl squeaked.

She had a pretty voice, like Danyalle, or an actress. She had the kind of appearance and aura that just oozed popularity. However, her tone was very meek. She hadn't gotten angry at me even though I had hit her.

"I'm so sorry!" I squeaked again.

"I- I'm certain it was an accident," the girl said, wiping her tears.

"I don't think you're hurt too bad, miss," the boy told her, having examined the bump on her head.

"Did you two suddenly wake up here too?" The girl asked.

I froze at this. It reminded me of something important.

"HOW DID YOU EVEN GET IN HEREEEEEEEEEEE?!" I abruptly screamed.

The girl cried out in shock and recoiled.

"L- like I said, I just woke up here," she whimpered.

"This place is impenetrable! There's no waaaaaaaay!" I yelled again.

"I take it you didn't just wake up here, then?" The girl asked.

"No! This place is my home!" I yelled, flailing my arms.

I took a deep breath, calming myself. Weirder things had happened that day, and I had to find Danyalle. But first, I had to be polite to them.

"My name is Toxic! I'm what they call the Super High School Level Artist," I introduced.

"And I am G, the Super High School Level Linguist," the boy said.

The girl's eyes widened.

"You're both Super High School Levels too? I'm Melanie Singer, Super High School Level Assistant! If you need help with anything, please come to me!" She said cheerfully. "What a coincidence!"

"Somehow, I doubt it's a coincidence," G murmured. His tone sent chills down my spine.

"What do you mean?" Melanie asked, blinking innocently.

"I'd like to see if anyone else has ended up here," G said. "And who their identities are in that case."

"I'll come with you," I said hurriedly.

"I- I think I'll sit down," Melanie whimpered, rubbing her wounded forehead.

I winced a bit, once again feeling bad about the pain I had caused her. Melanie sat down against the door and waved goodbye to us as we headed down the hallway.

Along the way, I spotted yet another stranger in my Paradise. I pouted as G waved him down.

"I'm Lucas Diamond, the Super High School Level Detective," Lucas introduced.

Lucas was a boy about my age, although he looked a tad younger, who looked the part of detective. He had that detective style outfit, with the hat, and the jacket, and...

Gah, you know what I'm talking about!

"Ah, a detective! That's just the kind of person we need! Mr. Diamond, please help us out of this situation!" G said.

"Yes! Please tell us what's going on!" I said hopefully.

"To tell you the truth, I've been searching this place top to bottom, but I have no idea what's going on! I'm usually doing simpler cases than this!" Lucas laughed.

I couldn't help but think he was an unreliable detective to have around.

"You're a pretty unreliable detective, huh?" G said.

How does someone just say that to a person's face?! Explain to me how you can do that!

"Excuse me?!" Lucas yelped, looking affronted.

"If you can't find enough evidence, look harder! We've all been abducted, so we need people like you to try hard and get us out! Understand me, amigo?!" G demanded.

"Yeah, of course. I- I... I'll get on it right away!" Lucas declared after a little hesitation.

"I expect great things of you, Officer Diamond," G said. "Get to work!"

Lucas, seeming a bit whipped after that stern talking to, dashed off to find clues.

"I didn't expect something like that from you, G," I said wryly.

"You didn't?" G replied, already trudging off.

I followed after him quickly. As we neared the next door, we met another person. This girl had a rather unruly look to her, as if she had been caught up in multiple explosions recently. In fact, she was tottering a little.

"Are you alright?" G asked worriedly.

"Y- yeah! Just... trying to build an escape machine... it was a failure... and my failures kind of explode..." The girl stammered.

"What?!" G asked, obviously bemused.

"If you're creating machines, then might you be..." I began.

"That's right! The Super High School Level Mechanic, Miciah Phillips!" The girl introduced cheerfully.

"An escape machine? What's an escape machine?" I asked awkwardly.

"It's just short hand, you know? I'm trying to build some stuff to get all us kidnapped people out of here! You just woke up here all of a sudden, didn't you?" Miciah asked.

"Well, actually, this is my home," I said awkwardly. "And all of you guys showed up in it while I was sleeping!"

"Well, I'm getting out of here! I'm starting with an airplane, then modifying it to drill through that bubble outside!" Miciah explained cheerfully.

"That's impossible!" I protested. "The dome is completely impenetrable!"

"Impossible?! Impenetrable?! Eat those words! Anything can be accomplished with the right brains and tools! That's the power of engineering and physical science!" Miciah declared strongly.

I was taken aback by the strength of her voice. I had taken her to be a really weak person. I guess I had judged wrong!

"That's why I'll keep building and building until I can break us all out of here!" Miciah said cheerfully.

"We'll leave you to that. Best of luck," G said as he led me onwards.

Admittedly, I envied the girl's optimism and determination. I wish I could fight onwards like that, that no matter the adversity. I still envy her today, heh heh.

Finally, we reached the study. I looked through the glass to find two unfamiliar people talking there.

"Ugh, why did they go in the study?! What if they messed something up!" I complained.

"It looks fine to me," G murmured.

"You weren't the one to organize it!" I caterwauled.

I shoved the doors open loudly, causing the two intruders to turn their heads in shock.

One of them was a big, muscular man with ruffled black hair and yellow eyes. The other one was a woman with obviously dyed blue hair and sea green eyes who seemed to be passing out. She was clinging to the man's shoulder in a pathetic attempt to stay standing. Both of them wore white button up shirts, although the woman was wearing a black coat over hers while the man had his coat neatly folded over his shoulder. The man wore black dress pants while the woman wore a neat dress skirt.

What was with everyone and their fancy styles?! I felt out of place near well dressed people.

"Wh- why... uh..." I stuttered, feeling their adult air pressing in on me.

"My friend just wanted to tell you not to ruin the order of her books," G explained.

Thanks, G.

"I'm sorry," the man said courteously, bowing to me. "We simply awakened in this place. We did not mean to disturb your abode."

"Hey! I'm gonna fall, you dumb bastard!" The woman snarled, clinging to his shoulder.

"Sorry," the man said again.

He stood straight again so she could properly cling to his shoulder. She rested her head there.

"My name is Hirohide," the man introduced formally. "I am the one known as Super High School Level Boxer. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Super High School Level Boxer?!" I gasped. "You?!"

"He DOES have a rather athletic build, does he not?" G pointed out.

"But he isn't how I envision a boxer at all!" I yelled.

"I am well within hearing range," Hirohide mumbled under his breath.

"Don't be a rude ass!" The woman yelled.

"And who are you?" G inquired.

"My name is Vicky! I'm a super high school level too, but I don't remember anything except my first name!" The woman proclaimed.

How does that even happen? I noted her down as the 'Super High School Level ?'.

"She seems to be experiencing amnesia," Hirohide explained. "I'm trying to assist her, but it's difficult for me. Please help me get her out of here."

"Don't worry about it. There are a number of super high school levels here trying to figure out what's going on. Soon enough we can get her to a doctor," G assured him.

"Thank you, kind sir," Hirohide bowed politely.

Someone like that reminds me more of one of those butlers who assists crazy millionaires in their schemes than a boxer.

G and I headed out once again. The next stop was the commons room. We found three people rummaging through it and throwing up the dusty pillows.

"The commons room!" I yelled in distress.

I dashed in and started putting the couches back together. My beloved commons room had been completely trashed by these hooligans. A hand suddenly offered me one of the pillows.

The girl offering me the pillow had slightly darker skin than I and black hair. She had tape binding her arms tightly and boxing gloves attached to her wrists using string.

"I'm sorry for the trouble my bosses caused," the girl said politely. "It was admittedly a bit scary to wake up in an unknown place. I'm Colette Monarch, the Super High School Level Intern, by the way!"

I stared at her.

"No... no matter how I look at it, this should be the boxer, and that guy from before should be the intern," I muttered to myself.

"Is there a problem, miss? I hope I didn't offend you!" Colette said worriedly.

"N- no, its nothing," I said quickly.

I proceeded to introduce myself in return. Colette decided I needed to meet the two people she called her 'bosses'.

One was an African American woman with what I can only describe as a powerful form. She had short black hair and a rather revealing outfit.

Honestly, I don't get the appeal of that stuff. I've never been interested in a romantic relationship, and I certainly don't approve of so much flaunting. However, to each their own. I promised myself not to judge her too hard.

The man beside her was extremely tall with brown hair. He wore a cloak, like you'd imagine an adventurer in a video game wearing, and it kind of obscured his appearance.

"These are my bosses. They're-" Colette began.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves," the man said, stepping forward. "I am Flash Dove, Super High School Level Survivor."

"Survivor? What does that even mean?" I asked.

There was complete silence for a moment. I realized I had probably offended him, but I couldn't muster up the courage to apologize at that time.

"I have the ability to survive any situation. With my skills and intellect, I will always make it out alive," Flash declared brazenly.

"It's a game show he's crazy about," Colette cut in cheerfully.

"Colette!" Flash complained.

"Well, its true, isn't it, boss?" Colette said quickly. "Being so crazy about that show is where you get your skills from!"

"I suppose so," Flash murmured.

"And you, miss?" I asked the girl beside him politely.

"Bruh," the girl said, putting her arms on her waist. "I'm Alicia Davis. Don't you 'miss' me. I'm Super High School Level Lucky Student!"

"Ah, so the one student who is chosen by lottery to take part?" G called over.

"Fuck you!" Alicia screamed.

I wasn't sure what I thought of such a vulgar girl, but I certainly didn't intend to spend much time with her. In the time I was talking to them, G had carefully put the commons room back together. We headed next to the storage room.

My heart sank when I saw two people rooting through the supplies.

"Hey! Don't touch those!" I yelled, flailing my arms uselessly.

"Eh?"

The two turned around. One was a tall man with a beard and reddish brown hair. He was wearing a white T-shirt which was disgustingly covered in fresh stains and a jeans. The other was a fairly tall woman with blue-green hair and sea green eyes. She was in an embarrassingly revealing sea-green bikini and wasn't wearing shoes.

I recoiled a bit. These two looked like adults, and I wasn't about to get into an adult argument. That seemed like a hassle, but them touching the supplies was also unforgivable. I don't understand why waking up somewhere entitles you to touching everything there.

"There's an awful lot of random shit here, huh?" The man said, resuming his rummaging.

"She said not to touch anything," G said dryly.

"Yeah?" The man murmured, unperturbed. "And who are you two to order me around?"

G introduced us both. Both man and woman stopped, looking surprised.

"You're also super high school levels?" The man asked with interest. "I've never met so many of them in the same place!"

"Are you both super high school levels, then?" G asked, not sounding surprised.

"That's right!" The woman said, sauntering up.

She had a very beautiful voice, like ocean waves gently curling against the shore. I wanted to paint a picture of that image.

The woman's chest bounced as she walked, and she came uncomfortably close to G. He recoiled a bit.

"I'm Mimari, the Super High School Level Swimmer!" She giggled. "But please call me Mimi!"

"I almost preferred the people whose outfits weren't constrained by their talent," G grumbled, blushing.

"And I'm Zack Brantley!" The man proclaimed. "Super High School Level Furry!"

G and I stared at him blankly.

"Well, that's what I wish my talent was. Really, it's Super High School Level Sniper," Zack explained.

"There it is," G mumbled.

"Hey, Zack. Let's leave their stuff alone, okay? We should be finding a way out of here instead," Mimi said.

"Yeah, sure. I don't see why not," Zack replied.

Much to my, and from his expression, G's, relief, the duo headed out of the storage room.

"What a guy," G grumbled. "Let's go in the opposite direction from them."

"Don't be mean," I scolded.

As we continued down the hallway, I prepared myself internally for all the damage these intruders had done to Paradise. It was quite infuriating, even for a pacifist like me. They didn't know how much effort Danyalle and I put into maintaining that place! Speaking of Danyalle, I still hadn't run into her. I imagined she was still in her room, working.

G came to a stop. In my reverie, I smacked into his back and nearly fell over. Most people tend to get angry and say 'watch where you're going' when that happens, but to be fair, I was the one who wasn't looking.

"Greetings," a melodic voice called gently from in front of G.

I stepped out beside G and beheld our next visitor. He was a young man, looking around the same age as everyone else. He had a lot of facial hair styled in what I would call a 'wolf cut'. His head greatly resembled a wolf thanks to it, and yet he still looked very neat. He wore a fancy tuxedo. He generally looked like a handsome guy.

"I see that you two have also been brought here against your will. I humbly offer my services to assist in any way," the man said, his voice flowing like honey. "My name is Lee Wolfsheim. I bear the title of Super High School Level Debate Champion."

"Debate champion, huh? That's a pretty cool title!" I said cheerfully.

"Indeed. I simply wish I could be of more help in a situation such as this," he sighed, melancholy pervading his voice.

My heart went out to him.

"Oh, don't be sad! We have a lot of people with talents good for this around! We'll get you guys out of here soon enough!" I hurriedly said.

"I appreciate your concern for my feelings," Lee said, a smile gracing his wolfish face. "I will do all that I can to assist."

It was at that time I heard sounds that made my heart skip a beat. The sounds of a fight. Screaming and yelling and thuds and bumps and...

I instantly took off running. Fighting and killing were the two things I couldn't ever allow in Paradise. How could it be Paradise if people were causing harm to each other?! The whole point was to not hurt anyone! I had to stop it... I had to...

I turned a corner and came to the entrance, finding myself face to face with two combatants.

The first was a massive, muscular man with unruly orange hair. He wore a white T-shirt and dark green sweatpants. He was exchanging blow after blow with...

Danyalle.

Oh.

...

"DAMMIT, DANYALLE!" I yelled both externally and internally.

"Oh, hey Toxic," Danyalle said calmly as she avoided a punch from the man and nearly kicked his head. The man caught her leg over his shoulder and threw her across the room.

"Stop fighting! You're going to break stuff!" I yelled, flailing. "And you of all people should know it's against the rules!"

"This bastard says he's better at fighting than me... after breaking into our home..." Danyalle growled, cracking her knuckles.

Ah, yeah. I forgot.

Danyalle is a hopelessly unreasonable person in every way.

"Wait, Dani! All these people-" I yelled.

"There are others?!" Danyalle interrupted.

"Don't get distracted," the man murmured as he punched Danyalle in the gut.

"Will you stop fighting?!" I yelled. "It's a misunderstanding! A complete misunderstanding! These people woke up here without any memory of how they arrived!"

"Huh?!" Danyalle gasped.

"Yeah, that's about right," the man said.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Danyalle yelled at the man.

"You started attacking me too quickly!"

I sighed.

"How about we just introduce ourselves and get along?" I suggested.

"I'm Gucchieresu Danyalle, the Super High School Level Writer," Danyalle grumbled. "Just because I'm a writer doesn't mean you can treat me like a weakling."

"I'm Murasume Dakata, the Super High School Level Fighter," the man replied.

"Fighter, huh? You aren't so tough!" Danyalle leered.

"I wouldn't test it," I muttered.

There was a strange sound, like crackling electricity. I figured it came from the TV hanging from the wall by the monitoring camera.

...we didn't have random TVs or cameras like that.

Danyalle and I rushed over to it, perplexed. Then, a distorted voice spoke through the static.

"...pupupupupu... you bas... all... of you... meet me outside the building at once..."

"What?" I murmured, a sense of dread creeping up my throat.

As Danyalle and I hesitated by the door, the rest of the SHSLs gathered behind us until all fifteen were present. We all silently waited for someone to be decisive. In the end, it was me.

I put my hands firmly on either side of the gate and gave it a push.

The beautiful morning sun was now setting in the horizon. Its rays dyed everything in the yard red. I'm certain if I looked behind me, all of the students I had just met were red too. Somehow, this normally beautiful sight only increased my dread. What was the meaning of all these now red people? How had they gotten into Paradise? Why did they all have SHSL talents? Did they really lose their memories? Was this all a trap? Was their red coloring symbolic of their purpose?

That horrible sunset symbolized all bad things in the world. All of murder, rape, assault, crime, genocide... and all of despair.

That's one picture I didn't ever want to paint.

Then, my train of thought was brought to the end. Every single one of us stared forward to the single biggest apple tree, which Monokuma popped out of.

I froze in horror. That nightmare had been real after all. Not that I should have been surprised, what with the magically appearing students and all, but I had been deep in denial at the time.

"What are you doing in my apple tree?! I'll kick your ass!" Danyalle declared brazenly.

"Hey! Don't speak to your headmaster that way!" Monokuma yelled.

"Headmaster? What are you talking about?" Dakata snickered.

"My, a robotic teddy bear with speech functions is hardly more threatening than any one of us!" Lee laughed.

"Who the fuck is this little bitch, tryna call himself my headmaster? Bruh! I'm about to squash him!" Alicia declared.

"This is pretty laughable," Flash agreed. "But please calm down. It'll be easy taking down a teddy bear."

"I'm not a teddy bear! I'm Monokuma!" Monokuma roared.

"Monokuma? That's just monochrome bear. Is that all there is to you?" G asked.

Monokuma looked shocked.

"You just look like a rusty bucket of bolts to me!" Vicky yelled.

"Don't waste your strength," Hirohide sighed. "At some point, I'd like to stop supporting you."

"Rusty... bucket of bolts..." Monokuma mumbled, looking depressed.

"You made Monokuma-San cry..." Melanie murmured sadly.

"Why are you sticking up for him?" Colette asked dryly.

"A talking animal robot, huh?" Zack commented.

"Please don't think too much of that, Mr. SHSL Furry," Lucas murmured.

"I- I'm certain he didn't mean anything by that comment!" Mimi defended quickly.

"Monokuma? Can I take you apart and see how you work?" Miciah asked cheerfully.

"No! Of course you can't take me apart!" Monokuma yelled.

"Why not? I've never seen anything like you before!" Miciah said cheerfully. "Just stand still!"

Before Monokuma could move, Miciah smashed him with a hammer. He began to glow ominously.

"Oops! I know what that means!" Miciah yelped.

She managed to hurl him away right before he exploded. The explosion was quite sizable, sending Miciah flying back.

"What a bomb!" Mimi yelled.

"Get back, everyone!" Flash commanded. "Don't get hit by the debris!"

When the smoke cleared, we all got up.

"He's gone..." I murmured in relief.

"What an annoyance," Danyalle sighed. "Let's get you guys off this island."

"I would appreciate it," Hirohide mumbled.

"Boohoo! Poor Monokuma!" Monokuma sobbed.

"Don't feel bad for him, Melanie," Lucas said.

"I- it wasn't me this time!" Melanie stammered.

We all froze and turned to the apple tree. Another Monokuma had popped up.

"KYAAAAAAAAAA!" Mimi screamed.

"What the hell?!" Alicia yelled.

"Kill it with fire!" Vicky shouted.

"Calm, please," Hirohide murmured.

"So he has spares. That's pretty predictable," Miciah said cheerfully.

My spirit fell six feet under once again.

"If you ever strike the headmaster again, you'll be in violation of the school rules and will be blown up!" Monokuma yelled angrily.

"School rules?" Lee wondered.

"I'm glad you asked, Debbie!" Monokuma cackled.

"Debbie?!" Lee yelped. "My name is Lee, and I'm a male!"

"Because I was about to tell you about the rules of this life!" Monokuma declared. "This life of mutual killing, I mean!"

There was silence for a moment.

"What's a mutual killing?" Zack spoke up earnestly.

"I'd also like to know that!" Miciah laughed.

Monokuma puffed out his cheeks.

"STOP INTERRUPTING ME AND YOU'LL KNOW, YOU BASTARDS!"

"Scary!" Melanie whimpered.

"He's still a stuffed toy," Dakata deadpanned.

"You all will be in a life of mutual killing! All fifteen of you bastards are stuck in this special bubbly place unless you graduate from the life of mutual killing. To graduate, all you have to do is kill another student and not get caught!" Monokuma explained cheerfully.

However, this was no cheerful matter to the rest of us. I was shocked beyond words.

"What the fuck did he just say?!" Alicia demanded.

"It's a bit unreasonable to tell us to kill each other," Lee murmured.

"I might be a fighter, but like hell I'd murder someone in cold blood! That's sick!" Dakata yelled.

"Guns aren't tools for killing humans! I'm not a psychopath!" Zack exclaimed.

"That first sentence, Zack," G mumbled.

"Upupupupupupu!" Monokuma laughed. "Good, good! I love that expression on your faces! That expression of deep despair! It's even better when people who say 'I won't kill' are the first ones to do so! Anyway, as I was so generously explaining, once someone is killed, there will be an investigation and a class trial! If in a class trial the innocent people figure out the killer, they get to live and the murderer will be executed! If they choose the wrong person, then everyone except the killer will be executed and the killer will graduate!"

"Basically, we're put into a situation where we have to kill everyone here in order to avoid living our lives in an unfamiliar place," Lee summarized. "Well, I refuse to kill anyone for the sake of that!"

Roused by Lee's emotional statement, we all began to caterwaul in protest.

"Like hell I'd kill anyone! I'll kill you for suggesting that!" Alicia yelled.

"Alicia-San, that's a bit counterproductive!" Colette laughed.

"My talent is surviving. That's a talent of life, not a talent of death. I'll continue living in a way that will enhance everyone's lives," Flash said.

"These fists aren't for killing," Hirohide said firmly.

"You tell that asshole!" Vicky jeered.

"I love animals, and even I don't love you!" Zack yelled.

"What?" G deadpanned.

"He means that in a normal way!" Mimi said quickly.

"I'm still determined to take you apart," Miciah said, preparing her hammer.

"Don't hurt anyone, Monokuma-San!" Melanie said forcefully.

I smiled at this show of courage from everyone. It must have been hard for them in such a hopeless situation. I, however, wasn't worried at all. Being trapped in my beautiful home was hardly a pain.

"Fine, fine! If you're so obsessed with staying here your whole lives, why don't you find out the school rules!" Monokuma yelled, tossing some kind of tablets at us. "Those are your student iDs! They have your identity and the school rules programmed into them! Don't lose them!"

I looked at mine and turned it on. Sure enough, it identified me by my real name and my talent. I scrolled to the next page and beheld the rules.

Rule 1: students may not leave the dome except if they graduate.

Rule 2: graduation happens when a student kills another student and succeeds in a class trial.

Rule 3: in a class trial, students will perform an investigation and will then try to determine who the killer is. If the wrong person is identified as the killer, then everyone will be executed by the headmaster and the killer will graduate.

Rule 4: in the case of the killer being correctly identified, the killer, and only the killer, will be executed by the headmaster.

Rule 5: "Nighttime" is from 10 pm to 7 am. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.

Rule 6: violence against the headmaster, surveillance cameras, and televisions is prohibited.

Rule 7: a killer may only kill up to three people.

Rule 8: students must enter all areas through unlocked entrances.

Rule 9: additional rules may be added by the headmaster.

"And with that, I leave you to your life of mutual killing! Have fun!" Monokuma said cheerfully.

He disappeared.

Everyone was silently looking through their rules, but I was a quick reader. Still, I pretended to keep reading so no one could look me in the eyes. A thought had occurred to me, you see.

Yes, I wouldn't ever kill anyone. I didn't even WANT to leave Paradise. But that didn't make me safe. If any of the other fourteen people decided they wanted to leave, they might kill me. I was stuck in an unescapable place with fourteen potential killers. My Paradise had become a hell.

Prologue: a Horrible Truth in Hell- end.


End file.
